[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-298378-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-298378-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","can-ms-excel-help-finance-students-to-excel-a-study-in-student-work-readiness-abstracts","CAN MS EXCEL HELP FINANCE STUDENTS TO EXCEL? - A STUDY IN STUDENT WORK READINESS - Abstracts","","Microsoft Excel is essential for finance careers, and equipping students for professional practice requires deliberate development of spreadsheet competence. This study evaluates a finance-focused Microsoft Excel workshop as an intervention to strengthen students’ Excel skills and work readiness. Pre- and post-intervention tests measured students’ perceptions and abilities across basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Results show significant skill improvement and more confident self-perceptions, with most students identifying Excel as a key job-market capability. Recommendations support embedding Excel assignments in finance modules to improve retention and self-directed learning.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/can-ms-excel-help-finance-students-to-excel-a-study-in-student-work-readiness-abstracts/298378/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/can-ms-excel-help-finance-students-to-excel-a-study-in-student-work-readiness-abstracts/298378.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Marry","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-23","2026-09-18",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the study evaluate regarding finance students?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study evaluates whether a finance-centric Microsoft Excel workshop improves students’ actual Excel skills and their perceived readiness for work.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How were students assessed in the study?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Students took pre- and post-intervention tests that measured both perceptions and abilities across basic, intermediate, and advanced Excel skills.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What are the study’s main findings about Excel skills?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The results show significant improvements across Excel skill levels and a positive impact on students’ self-perceptions, with most students recognizing Excel as a critical job-market skill.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},298378,1789756114,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},5909892079670,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","CAN MS EXCEL HELP FINANCE STUDENTS TO EXCEL? A STUDY IN STUDENT WORK READINESS  \nE. Kirsten*  \n[https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-1381](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-1381)  \nR. van Hoepen  \nImpact Training Academy Monumentpark Pretoria, South Africa  \nE. du Toit*  \n[https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8386-7969](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8386-7969)  \n*Department of Financial Management University of Pretoria  \nPretoria, South Africa  \nABSTRACT  \nMicrosoft Excel is vital in the finance sector, and preparing students for the professional arena involves honing their spreadsheet skills. A study investigated the efficacy of a finance-centric Microsoft Excel workshop as an intervention to enhance students' skills and readiness for work.  \nPre-and post-intervention tests assessed students' perceptions and abilities. The results revealed a significant improvement across basic, intermediate, and advanced Excel skills, positively impacting students' self-perceptions. The majority recognized Excel as a critical job market skill. The study recommends integrating Excel assignments into finance modules to elevate skills and enhance finance knowledge retention, promoting self-directed learning.  \nKeywords: Excel, spreadsheet, self-efficacy , work readiness , finance  \nINTRODUCTION  \nProficiency in information and communication technologies and overall computer literacy are crucial in today's competitive job market (Grant, Malloy, and Murphy, 2009; Tickle, Kyng, and Wood, 2014; Daff, 2021) . Word processing and effective spreadsheet usage are fundamental requirements for office jobs worldwide (Zhang, 2014) . In the US, a significant percentage of entry-level and middle-skilled job openings necessitate at least basic proficiency in productivity software like Microsoft Office Excel (hereafter MS Excel) (Burning Glass Technologies, 2015;  \nFormby, Medlin, and Ellington, 2017) . This requirement extends globally, impacting both developed and developing countries (Doe, et al., 2016) .  \nFinance and accounting professionals, in particular, must continually update their computer skills due to the evolving work environment (Wessels, 2007; Quinto and Emmanuel, 2022) . While advanced skills like coding macros may be less common, basic to intermediate MS Excel skills are deemed essential for success in finance teams (Balik, 2009; Spraakman, et al., 2015) . Many organizations use Excel extensively, making proficiency in Excel a fundamental starting point for MAs (Schmidt, Riley, and Swanson Church, 2020) . Spreadsheet proficiency, especially with MS Excel, is consistently ranked as vital by professionals in both public and private sectors (Cory and Pruske, 2012; Doe, et al., 2016) . Therefore, guiding students to practice these skills using software like MS Excel is imperative for their preparation for the workforce.  \nWhile a well-rounded education is vital for fostering active and engaged citizens, universities also have a role in preparing graduates for the workforce. Studies show that proficiency in MS Excel, a valuable tool for critical thinking and data analysis, remains a gap in graduating students' skill sets (Ramachandran and Ragland, 2016) . Integrating MS Excel skills into the curriculum can bridge this gap without compromising the broader educational goals. Employers consistently report inadequate spreadsheet skills in graduates (Cory and Pruske, 2012; Aryanti and Adhariani, 2020) . Surprisingly, final-year students often overestimate their spreadsheet skills, realizing the gap only after employment (Yu, Churyk, and Chang, 2013; Ragland and Ramachandran, 2014) . Despite some MS Excel training, both graduates and employers agree on the need for enhanced proficiency through formal instruction (Ramachandran and Ragland, 2016; Tickle et al., 2014) .  \nThe question arises as to how finance students should be trained to reach a proficient level of MS Excel skills. In this article, we discuss an attempt to address the lack of skills of enrolled students","cbCairAv6YNnN1Ej","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairAv6YNnN1Ej","pdf",374374,18,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Need for Excel proficiency in the workplace\n## Gaps in student skills and the role of training\n# Literature Review\n## MS Excel training","[{\"question\":\"What does the study evaluate regarding finance students?\",\"answer\":\"The study evaluates whether a finance-centric Microsoft Excel workshop improves students’ actual Excel skills and their perceived readiness for work.\"},{\"question\":\"How were students assessed in the study?\",\"answer\":\"Students took pre- and post-intervention tests that measured both perceptions and abilities across basic, intermediate, and advanced Excel skills.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the study’s main findings about Excel skills?\",\"answer\":\"The results show significant improvements across Excel skill levels and a positive impact on students’ self-perceptions, with most students recognizing Excel as a critical job-market skill.\"}]","CAN MS EXCEL HELP FINANCE STUDENTS TO EXCEL? - A STUDY IN STUDENT WORK READINESS - Abstracts | PDF",45]